Critical Mass says their ride will go on with or without police help after Houston Police Department said the riders should pay officers tasked with escorting them.

The riders say they never asked for assistance, and as such, are happy to carry on without help, and without paying, just as before.

It's the latest twist in a tale of cars vs. cyclists which has, at times, become violent. Riders and drivers in both San Fransisco and Seattle have come to blows on their Critical Mass nights.

"The police position is that this group are no different from a large event like a funeral procession or a parade," said HPD spokesman Kese Smith.

Those events have to pull permits and hire off duty officers to marshall traffic.

Police have sent two patrol cars and four officers for Critical Mass rides since the Halloween ride, which saw nearly 2,000 cyclists turn out in costume.

"There are a thousand of them," Smith went on, "if every one of them paid a dollar each that would easily cover it. We just dont have the resources to be pulling officers from other neighborhoods."

To Critical Mass, a traditionally free event, that is not an option.

"Our response would be, don't offer the assistance," said group spokesman Hector Garcia. "We didn't ask them to help, they came to us because of complaints they were receiving. We've been doing it for 10 years and have never had an accident."

Some commenting on the group's social media pages said they would be willing to pay.

Protest or parade

Critical Mass started as a protest ride. It was a ride to show car drivers, who usually control the road, who was boss for that one night of the month.

And it worked.

Riders successfully run lights and hold up intersections just because their shear volume means it's impossible to stop them.

It also made them hugely unpopular with other road users. On their twentieth anniversary, one Seattle News website blogged, "Critical Mass turns 20 and everyone hates them."

If they are defined as people exercising their First Amendment right to protest, police attendance would come under city responsibility to ensure public safety. But in the face of public complaints, even the cyclists themselves have backed away from that angle.

"We got away from the protest tagging," said Garcia. "We're an awareness ride, a social ride."

Yesterday, Garcia praised parts of the city that already treat them like more like a parade.

"In the less affluent parts of the city like the 3rd and 5th ward, people love us. They come out cheering. It's like a free show," he said.

Going legit?

If the group allows itself to become a legitimate parade-like event, more people may come out and watch and cheer, and the haters really will just have to put up with it.

But that could mean they risk losing their renegade status, which has always been part of the spirit of the ride. And they have to organize, also not in the spirit of their movement.

HPD doesn't want to speculate on what would happen if money is required and Critical Mass refuse.

"It may take something like the Mayor's office clarifying what the ride is to actually resolve the issue," said HPD's Kese Smith. "We do want to work with riders to find a permanent solution."

The mayor's office says they also want to keep communication going, "We intend to continue working with Critical Mass to try and develop a plan that is safe for riders and minimizes inconvenience to drivers," says the Mayor's spokesperson Janice Evans.

On the questions of riders paying for police officers who attend their rides Evans said, "We don't think we're at the point of making that decision yet."

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